ORIGINAL ARTICLE DOI:10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v%vi%i.34397 Cienc Cuid Saude 2017 Oct-Dec; 16(4) *Nurse. Master, Rio de Janeiro State University. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: dezza.franco@gmail.com **Nurse. PhD, Rio de Janeiro State University. Rio de Janeiro - RJ, E-mail: karla.biancha@gmail.com ***Nurse. Specialist, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: gselle.torres7@gmail.com ****Nurse. PhD, Rio de Janeiro State University. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: fcamerini@gmail.com *****Nurse. Master, Rio de Janeiro State University. Rio de Janeiro, Rj, Brazil. E-mail: professor@uerj.com.br STRATEGIES FOR PAIN ASSESSMENT IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS: A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY Andrezza Serpa Franco* Karla Biancha Silva de Andrade** Gisele Torres Santos*** Flavia Giron Camerini**** Ana Lucia Cascardo Marins***** ABSTRACT This research had as objective studying pain assessment strategies used by nurses in critical ill patients. Pain was described by the American Pain Society as the 5th vital sign, making it essential to use pain measurement scales. The objective of this research was to identify online productions that address the strategies used by nurses to assess the pain in critically ill patients. This is a bibliometric study of descriptive nature. We analyzed 19 articles, mostly published in international journals, and especially in the American Journal of Critical Care. The results show that the highest frequency of scientific works was consolidated in 2011 and 2013 and the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) scale is the one most widely used by nurses for pain assessment in critically ill patients who are unable of self-report pain, and are under mechanical ventilation. The data seem to be incipient in view ofthe relevance of the theme, presenting gaps in knowledge production, especially with respect to the application of scales associated with nursing interventions and the reapplication after such interventions. It is necessary to systematize the assistance provided to the patients. Identifying the best scale according to the patients profile may be a good start to minimize the progress of pain and its consequences for critical patients, but interventions and assessments must be a priority. Keywords: Pain measurement. Critical care, Nursing care. Clinical Protocols. INTRODUCTION This research hadas objective studying pain assessment strategies used by nurses in critical ill patients. Pain is one of the main causes of human suffering and can cause innumerable disabilities, poor quality of life, and psychosocial and economic repercussions, gaining important proportions in problems related to public health. National and international epidemiological studies have shown that approximately 80% of people's demand for health services is motivated by pain (1) . Based on information from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, becoming something subjective expressed in different ways by people. Thus, the need to create an instrument with scales that measured the pain of each individual according to his particularities became evident, in order tomakesafe interventions possible, especially in health care settings (2) . In hospitalized patients, pain control and relief are responsibilities ofhealth professionals who often end up underestimating the pain of patientsdue to the concern with the adverse events caused by analgesics (4) . Methods of pain control and assessmentare extensive and involve acquisition of various information related to the onset of pain, location, intensity, duration and periodicity of pain episodes, the patients’ sensory and affective qualities and also factors that initiate, increase or decrease pain intensity (3) . Among health professionals, a study carried out in 2010 highlighted the role of nurses in pain management, emphasizing activities such as: exploring and valuing pain complaints; collecting data on aggravating factors, and personal and family history; investigating the discomfort caused by pain; and applying instruments that can assist in painmeasurement and evaluation, effectively intervening in the quality of analgesia (1) . Regarding there cognition of the need for pain management, the Joint Commission Accreditation Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) calls attention for its mandatory nature in the hospital accreditation process. The JCHAO draws our attention to the benefits of pain care in hospital institutions, not only by minimizing and eliminating discomfort, but also